shop now before it's too late!

Black Friday is, blessedly, behind us. So, too, is Cyber Monday. All that stands between today and the holidays are a few weeks of retail panic.

Relax, brave shoppers. It has never been easier for a Clevelander to wrap up his or her holiday shopping thanks to a bevy of brief boutiques. These fleeting ventures spring up like magic mushrooms after an imaginary storm to make shopping fun, easy and 100-percent local.

Made in the 216Where: Room Service, 2078 W. 25th StreetWhen: Daily through December 31What: For five weeks, Danielle DeBoe reworks her eclectic Ohio City boutique Room Service into a festive holiday shop featuring the artsy goods of over 60 Cleveland-based designers.
24th Annual ArtCraft Holiday SaleWhere: The ArtCraft Building, 2570 Superior AvenueWhen: Saturday December 3 through Sunday December 4What: Over 50 local and regional artists working in fine arts and crafts across diverse media. A warren of rooms on multiple floors makes exploring half the fun.
The Cleveland Handmade MarketWhere: Tower Press Building, 1900 Superior AvenueWhen: Saturday December 3What: Arts and crafts from dozens of local artists and food and drink from Artefino Art Gallery Café. While shopping, visit the open studios of resident artists.

Ohio City Christmas FestivalWhere: Market Avenue, across W. 25th Street from the West Side MarketWhen: Saturdays through December 17What: Christmas tree sales, photos with Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, cookie decorating and locally produced arts, crafts and products.

Collective UpcycleWhere: 13226 Shaker SquareWhen: Thursday to Sunday through December 24What: A pop-up boutique featuring the work of over 30 Cleveland artists who repurpose existing resources and materials into jewelry, bags, flowers, furniture, candles, decorations, photo frames, stationary and accessories.

Bazaar BizarreWhere: 78th St. Studios, 1301 W. 78th StreetWhen: December 10 and 11What: One of the largest holiday gift fairs in the region with approximately 100 vendors selling a wide range of handmade arts, crafts and accessories. Fun, funky and contemporary, this fair is a Godsend for helpless shoppers.

Cosmic Bobbins Pop-up ShopWhere: 2406 Professor AvenueWhen: Daily through December 23What: Cosmic Bobbins upcycles materials that might otherwise be considered waste and turns them into one-of-a-kind accessories, which you can buy at this Tremont boutique.

Salty not SweetWhere: 2074 W. 25th StreetWhen: Monday through SaturdayWhat: While not a pop-up shop, this cheeky boutique should be on the must-shop list of everyone who loves snark. In addition to some of the funniest holiday cards on Earth, this well-stocked shop has all matter great giftable goods.

CLE Clothing Co.Where: 342 Euclid AvenueWhen: Seven days a weekWhat: While not a pop-up or temporary shop, this is a new and worthy addition to the downtown retail landscape. Attached to Positively Cleveland's Visitors Center, the clothing shop is a natural extension of the Cleveland Pride brand.

Douglas Trattner is a fulltime freelance writer, editor and author. In addition to acting as Managing Editor of Fresh Water, he is the Dining Editor of Cleveland Scene, author of “Moon Handbooks: Cleveland,” and co-author with Michael Symon on two New York Times best-selling cookbooks. His work has appeared in Food Network magazine, Miami Herald, Globe and Mail, Wine & Spirits, Cleveland Magazine and others. He lives in Cleveland Hts. with his wife, two dogs, five chickens and 20,000 honeybees.